Disabled man claims Delta made him crawl

A paralyzed man is suing Delta Airlines, claiming he was forced to crawl across the tarmac after the carrier refused to help him on and off a plane.

Baraka Kanaan, a 40-year-old former philosophy teacher, was paralyzed in a car accident in 2000.

In his lawsuit, he claims he was subjected to "appallingly outrageous treatment" on his flight to Nantucket, Mass., last July and his return flight back to Maui, Hawaii, two days later, ABC News reported.

Kanaan said he called Delta to let them know he'd need an aisle seat and a lift to get off the plane and into his wheelchair.

According to the lawsuit, Delta officials said no problem.

But when Kanaan got to Nantucket Airport, there was no lift and he claims a flight attendant told him there was no way they could get him off the plane, the Huffington Post reported.

As a result, he claims he was forced to "crawl down the aisle of the airplane, down the stairs of the aircraft and across the tarmac to his wheelchair without any assistance."

The same thing happened on his return trip back to Hawaii.

Kanaan is seeking unspecified damages for enduring what he called "intense physical and extreme emotional suffering."

A Delta spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation.

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